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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Taskmaster, Demolition Man, Sharon Carter, Red Skull
Marvel Legends Captain America action figures

Hasbro
Date Published: 2016-04-06
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

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Marvel Legends Taskmaster, Sharon Carter, Red Skull, Demolition Man action figure by Hasbro

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Introduction

I enjoyed Batman v Superman - it didn't knock my socks off, but it was one of those reasonably good superhero flicks that gave me some of what I wanted and left some questions open for the upcoming flicks.  It set up the DC Movie Universe pretty well without giving too much away, but there are some annoying features as well that keep it from getting more than a 6/10 from me. Hey, it was better than Iron Man 2.

But the upcoming Captain America: Civil War has my expectations set pretty high. While the first Cap was weak, the second helped set up a character in the MCU that is now one of my favorites, and this flick could cement the top spot for him, even over Tony Stark. Of course, all those expectations can also mean disaster...

I'm wrapping up the second half of the latest Captain America wave from Hasbro's Marvel Legends tonight.  These are not movie based of course, although they do tie them into the MCU at times when appropriate.  This set includes the Taskmaster, Demolition Man (aka Scourge), and Sharon Carter (aka Agent 13).  The Build-A-Figure is Red Skull, done up in his Onslaught duds.

You can find these at most Toys R Us, Target, and Meijer stores right now, and they run in the $20 each range depending on sales and deals.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Marvel Legends Demolition Man action figure by Hasbro

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Packaging - ****
I'm kind of surprised that Hasbro has stuck with the collector friendly packaging this long. While I love it, I know it must cost them in returns, since there are way too many jackasses that buy the figures, take out the new character, and swap in some older figure before returning it. For those of us who are not total jackasses, the package is great, allowing you to remove the figure and accessories without damage, and return it later for storage or secondary market sale.

Occasionally they have issues getting the figures properly placed in the plastic trays, which can result in bent or warped knees or elbows. No trouble at all this time.

Marvel Legends Taskmaster action figure by Hasbro

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Sculpting - Sharon ***; the rest ****
Of the four, only Sharon falls short of excellent this time around. The widely separated eyes and tootsie roll hair isn't working for me, and the standard ML female body has all the usual issues with spindly limbs. She's not awful, but B work at best. She comes in at right about 6" tall.

Taskmaster is my favorite of this group, and either head sculpt looks terrific. Lots of small detail work on the costume, and the armor has that Knights of the Round Table thing going for it. That is, if Lancelot had guns strapped to his chest. He's on the taller side, topping 6 1/2".

Then there's Demolition Man, who is almost as nice as Taskmaster. Almost. There's a ton of great looking detail work, especially on the belts and armor. He reminds me of a hockey player from Hell. He stands about 6 1/4", pretty standard stuff for the usual male ML.

Then there's the big, bad, BAF.  Red Skull has a great looking head sculpt, and the Onslaught armor has that super smooth, glossy finish that works so well with figures in this scale. They added some ribbing to the armor to give it some texture and detail, and the super sharp edges on the various pieces of armor lend it a dangerous, deadly air. He's big too, close to 9" tall.

Marvel Legends Taskmaster action figure by Hasbro

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Paint - Sharon ***; the rest ***1/2
Again, poor Sharon gets the short straw.  The biggest paint issues for her are the eyes, already wide set and made to look even more alien with a sloppy paint job. The silver edging on the suit is a bit messy as well, and while she's decent overall, she won't knock your socks off.

The other three all have better than average paint applications and operations. The silver armor on Taskmaster is consistent and clean, and the bright colors on Red Skull really pop. I particularly like the work on Red's face and teeth, which are quite clean and sharp.

Every figure has small detail paint work on the armor and costume, with highlights and symbols sporting clean edges and bright, consistent colors.  Considering the price point, the work is well above average.

Marvel Legends Taskmaster action figure by Hasbro

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Articulation - Sharon ***; the rest ***1/2
All four figures have the expected Marvel Legends articulation, with lots of rotating hinges, ball joints, and double pins.

The neck is quite restricted on Sharon, thanks to the hair, and her rocker ankles were not as useful as with the other figures. Getting her to stand at all was a trick, and options for reasonable poses were limited. The joints were tight and solid, but not as well designed as the male figures.

The neck isn't as restricted on the Taskmaster as I thought, even with the hood. The joints on both he and Demolition Man worked great, and the rocker ankles were particularly useful with both.  For figures in this scale, they can take far more fluid, natural poses than most.

Red Skull's head is placed fairly deep inside the torso, making the ball joint a little less mobile than I'd like. Still, the overall result was good, considering the more restrictive nature of the thick armor.  The shoulder 'pads' are articulated as well, although they can only move up and down a little. It does give he arms a slightly greater range of movement, however.

I didn't have any stuck joints on these four, and assembling Red Skull was pretty straight forward. As I mentioned earlier, there were no warped elbows or knees due to the package, even with the skinnier body used for Sharon.

Marvel Legends Sharon Carter action figure by Hasbro

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Accessories - Red Skull Bupkis; Sharon Carter ***; Demolition Man ***1/2; Taskmaster ****
Red Skull is an accessory, so while he doesn't have any, I won't be holding it against him. Sharon Carter has her BAF piece along with the gun, and the weapon fits neatly in her sculpted right hand. It's fairly plain, and a bit more dollar store toy in appearance than I like, but at least you're getting something. BTW, the guns in her holster are not removable.

Demolition Man comes outfitted nicely with a rifle, handgun, and knife. The smaller gun and blade fit inside a holster and sheath on his belt as well. The hands are sculpted to work with the weapons, and the ML articulation allows for plenty of good one and two handed poses holding them.

Taskmaster gets the full four star treatment, thanks to the inclusion of the second head.  The attached head comes draped in a white hood and has the more Terminator styled face.  The second portrait has the darker hood, with the more Punisher like mask. They both look good, but swapping them can be a little tricky. Mine fit very tightly, and I had to be careful not to pull the neck post loose when switching between the two.

He also has a sword and shield, which he can easily carry. The shield snaps on either wrist, while the sword can be held by the sculpted hands. The sword came out of the tray bent, but it's nothing you can't work on with a little hot water/cold water treatment.

Marvel Legends Demolition Man action figure by Hasbro

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Marvel Legends Red Skull action figure by Hasbro

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Marvel Legends Sharon Carter action figure by Hasbro

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Fun Factor - ***1/2
All four figures are great toys, first and foremost. The excellent articulation combined with the decent accessories make these great for any kid. It's a plus that collectors will enjoy them almost as much, and find plenty of ways to pose and display them with the rest of their own personal Marvel Universe.

Marvel Legends Taskmaster action figure by Hasbro

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Value - ***
They've managed to maintain the $20 price point for awhile now, although you could argue that with the drop in oil prices - the biggest reason cited in the past for the extreme increase in cost - that we should start seeing cheaper prices. Still, all of these have plenty of extras, and the solid, large BAF makes them even more attractive than usual in this category.

Marvel Legends Red Skull action figure by Hasbro

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Things to Watch Out For -
As I mentioned, you'll want to take a little care when swapping the heads on Taskmaster. It was a tight fit, and you could pull the neck plug out completely.

Marvel Legends Taskmaster action figure by Hasbro

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Overall - Sharon ***; Red Skull, Demolition Man ***1/2; Taskmaster ****
Marvel Legends figures have become extremely consistent in their quality, a huge plus for the line overall. While Sharon is average, she's still a nice add to the group, and worth picking up if for no other reason than to complete the BAF. Red Skull looks great, and both Taskmaster and Demolition Man were surprise wins for me. Neither character are high on my list, but the end result turned out terrific.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - Sharon ***; the rest ****
Paint - Sharon ***; the rest ***1/2
Articulation - Sharon ***; the rest ***1/2
Accessories - Red Skull Bupkis; Sharon ***; Demolition Man ***1/2; Taskmaster ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***
Overall - Sharon ***; Red Skull, Demolition Man ***1/2; Taskmaser ****

Marvel Legends Taskmaster, Sharon Carter, Red Skull, Demolition Man action figure by Hasbro

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Where to Buy 
These are popping up at Target, Meijer, and Toys R Us where they run around $20 each. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the wave of eight figures for $170.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I covered the first half of this wave just last week, including Captain America, Mockingbird, Whirlwind, and Cottonmouth.  I also just wrapped up my look at the most recent ML Spider-Man wave, including Absorbing Man, Ben Reilly, Spider-Gwen, and Venom in one half, and Speed Demon, Beetle, Jack O'Lantern, and Morbius in the other. Prior reviews include the terrific Hulbuster  BAF, the Blizzard, Vision, Valkyrie, War Machine, Thundra, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man.

I let the BAF's build up for awhile last year, and covered a whole bunch at once in this review. Prior to that, I covered the Rhino wave, including Kraven, Chameleon, Misty Knight and Ghost Rider and Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom and White Tiger,  the Ant-Man wave in part 1 with Giant Man, Bull Dozer and Grim Reaper, and part 2 with Ant-man, Wasp, and Tiger Shark. and the Avengers (Thanos) wave, in part 1 with Hulk, Hellcat, and Iron Man MK43, and part 2 with Captain America, Batroc and Spider-Woman. Before that is the 'Hobgoblin' series which I've started with part 1 here, and the 'Allfather' wave, including Captain Marvel, Sentry and Thor and Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Machine Man and Iron Fist. I also checked out the Toys R Us exclusive three pack of Coulson, Fury and Maria Hill from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

There's a lot more reviews than that, and you should also hit the Search Reviews page, to find them. Also, there's likely to be more applicable reviews done after this one was published.

Discussion:
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Marvel Legends Taskmaster, Sharon Carter, Red Skull, Demolition Man action figure by Hasbro

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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